Middletown council to vote on Mt. Higby solar plant

Proposed plant to be built at Mt. Higby reservoir

Published 5:14 pm, Thursday, January 2, 2014

MIDDLETOWN >> The city will vote Monday on a proposal for a solar power plant at the Mt. Higby Reservoir that the mayor says will reduce pollution and save the city money.

Greenskies Inc. has proposed a power purchase agreement to the city under which Greenskies will build a solar system in a field near the reservoir and, in exchange, the city will buy 100 percent of the power the facility produces for the next two decades. The electricity generated will power the Charles B. Bacon Water Treatment Plant situated at the reservoir.

According to the proposed resolution, the complex would produce an estimated 254,000 kilowatt hours per year—“the equivalent to the electric usage of 26 average homes” or “the carbon dioxide emissions from 20,090 gallons of gasoline or 153 passenger vehicles” each year.

Andrew Chester, a senior vice president at Greenskies, said the output will be even higher, in the neighborhood of 338,000 kilowatt-hours pwer year.

“This ground-mounted solar system will consist of over 800 panels and it will cover roughly one acre,” said Chester. He said the project would begin as soon as possible “and should be operational by mid-spring.”

“We get a power purchase agreement with Greenskies to create the electricity right on-site, which is substantially less expensive than the open-market rate that we’re paying,” said city Mayor Daniel Drew.

He said being able to “direct-meter” into the building would eliminate the cost the city would otherwise pay for transmission to the building, and “completely eliminate the carbon footprint” of the treatment plant.